Plating machine



May 10, 1949. 'N. H. M-AGEOCH PLATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 1, 1944 INVENTOR N.H. MA GEOCH RNEY May 10, 1949- N. H. MAGEOCH 2,469,470

PLATING MACHINE '4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 1, 1944 INVENTOR MH. MAGEOGH k ATTORN May 10, 1949. N. H. MAGEOCH PLATING MACHINE 4 Shets-Sheet 5 Filed NOV. 1, 1944 INVENTOR N.H. MAGEOCH B) Z ATTORNEY Patented May 10, 1949 iiNITED STATES PT 'i OFFICE PLATING MACHINE Application November 1, 1944, Serial No. 561,405

1 2 Claims.

This invention relates to plating machines, and more particularly to machines for plating quartz crystal elements.

In certain types of communication equipment, quartz crystal elements cut into various sizes and contours are to form parts of electrical units. These crystal elements are to receive metallic coatings of selected conductive materials such as gold or silver and it has been found advantageous to provide a variable means through the aid of which groups of such elements can be successively plated.

An object of the invention is to provide a plating machine which is simple in structure, efiicient in operation and highly variable, depending upon the number of articles to be coated during each operating cycle.

With this and other objects View, the invention comprises a plating tank, including a plating solution, means operable to move selected numbers of articles successively into and out of the plating tank and means to condition the plating material to plate varied numbers of articles simultaneously.

Other objects and advantages Will be found in the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanied drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the plating machine;

Fig 2 is a fragmentary top plan View of the plating machine, portions thereof being shown in section;

3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View taken along the line ll of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detailed view of a portion of the holder and one of the articles to be plated; and

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram illustrating the control circuits for the plating operation.

Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to the purpose of the machine. The articles to be plated, are in the present embodiment, crystal elements it supported by wires H from insulating members i2, the latter having terminals receivable in split tubes It which are carried by racks or holders 5%. In the present illustration, there are five pairs of these split tubes [4 denoting five positions for crystal elements or articles H) on each rack iii. In the machine, there are four operating positions, namely, a cleaning or washing position ll, 2. plating position It, a rinsing position 59 and a drying position 25!. The holders or racks [5 are manually disposed at the first operating position H where the elements or articles iii are washed.

During this time, similar racks iii are disposed at the plating position l8, the rinsing position l9 and the drying position 2d, they having been moved into and out of the preceding positions. Adjacent the drying position 29, spaced receiving slides 2| are disposed, provided with stops 22 at their lower ends and having inclined surfaces 23 to receive the racks successively and allow them to move downwardly thereon limited by the stops 22. An operating mechanism is provided to simultaneously lift the racks at all of the operating positions, move them through similar arcs and deposit them at their neXt adjacent positions. In other words, the rack at position I! will be moved to the platin position l8, while the rack previously disposed at the plating position I8 will be moved to the rinsing position 19, the rack previously disposed at position l9 will be moved to the drying position 26 and the rack previously disposed at the drying position 20 will be transferred to the slides 25.

Considering now the detailed structure of the machine, it will be noted by viewing Figs. 1 and 2 that the positions ii and i9 include outer tanks 25 and inner tanks 25. The inner tanks 26 are smaller than the outer tanks, but are of greater height so that the fluids fed to the inner tanks may overflow into the outer tanks. A supply line 28 has connecting lines 25 and 30 in which valves 3! and 32 are disposed. Leading from the valves ill and 32 are flexible lines 33 and 34 which have their forward ends connected to perforated tubes 35 and 36, the latter extending adjacent both sides and one end of their respective inner tanks 26; Through this means, a continuous supply of fluid, such as water, is directed to the washing position ll and the rinsing position !9, namely, the inner tanks 25 thereof, under the control of their respective valves 3i and 32. The outer tanks 25 are provided with drain pipes 38 leading to a main drain 39.

Attention at this time is directed to the racks I5 which are identical in structure and a multiplicity thereof being provided so that groups of crystal elements it may be assembled in the split tubes i4 thereof to be placed in readiness for movement through the plating machine. Consider, for example, the rack shown in Fig. 4, the central portion of which has the split metallic tubes i l mounted therein at spaced positions. Legs at are provided at the ends of the central portion and to the outer surfaces of the legs, in-

verted v-shaped members 4| are secured. Pockets 62 having outwardly flared upper portions 43 are mounted at each of the positions I'I, I8, and I9 and disposed like distances apart to receive the legs of the racks as they are transferred thereto during the operating cycles of the machine.

The plating position I8 includes a structure similar to the washing position I? and the rinsing position I9 in that it has an inner tank 45 and an outer tank :30. An electrolyte solution or plating bath 4! is provided for the plating tank 45 through a supply line 48, which leads from a pump (not shown) through a hook shaped pipe 49 and into the inner tank 45. An overflow pipe 50 leads from the outer tank 41 to the pump (not shown). At the plating position, the cup shaped members 42 are provided with cutaway portions 43 to receiv resilient contacts 44 so that electrical contact may be made through the racks I5 as they are successively brought into this position. Further description of this electrical connection of the racks through the contacts 44 and the plating bath will be set forth in the description of the control circuit (Fig. 6) and during the description of the operation of the machine.

The drying position 20 includes spaced perforated pipes 55 which lead to a common supply line 56 through the aid of a connection 51. A Valve 58, of the normally closed type operated into open position through the energization of a solenoid 59, controls air under pressure through the line 56 and through the perforated lines 55 to direct streams of air to both sides of a series of articles or elements I when transferred to the drying position from the rinsing position I9. A switch 60 of the normally open type, and disposed in a circuit to control the operation of the solenoid 59, is actuable into closed position through the aid of a plunger 6| and a resilient arm 62 when the adjacent leg 40 of a rack is disposed in the adjacent supports 63 thereof. The supports 63 are disposed at the ends of th drying position and are of the contour shown in Fig, 5, with the exception that only one is apertured for the switch plunger 6|.

The power means for the operating mechanism of the machine includes a motor I0, which drives a reduction gear unit 'II through a belt and pulley connection I2. A pinion I3 is mounted upon the output shaft 14 of the unit II and interengages a gear I5. The gear I is mounted upon a shaft I6 and has a segmental gear I? fixed thereto and rotatable therewith, through the aid of screws I8. The gear I7 is of the contour shown in Fig. 3 with a series of teeth I9 at one portion thereof, the remaining periphery of the gear being smooth as indicated at 80. The gear I! is positioned to engage a gear 8! provided with equally spaced arcuate portions 82 for engagement with the surface 80 and intermediate groups of teeth 83 for interengagement with the teeth I9. The gear BI is mounted upon a shaft 85, the latter being journalled in suitable supports including a bracket 86. The gear SI has a gear 88 fixed thereto by suitable means, such as screws 89 and is rotatable with the shaft 85. The gear 88 interengages a pinion 90, the latter being fixedly mounted upon a shaft 9|. The shaft 9| extends the full width of the apparatus between the rinsing position I9 and the drying position 20 and has its ends suitably journalled in bearings of a frame 92. Other shafts 93, 94 and 95 similar to the shaft 9| are respectively positioned between washing and plating stations I! and -I8, between the plating and rinsing stations I8 and I9 and beyond the drying station 20. The shaft 9I is directly connected to the power means through the pinion and it has fixedly mounted thereon, a gear 97 which interengages idler gears 98 and 09. The idler gear 99 drives a gear I00, which is fixedly mounted upon a shaft 95, while the idler gear 98 drives a gear IOI, which is fixedly mounted upon the shaft 95. Through the aid of an idler gear I02, interposed between the gear IOI and a gear I03, which is fixedly mounted upon the shaft 93, the latter may be rotated. Through this train of gears extending from the output shaft I4 of the unit II, to the shaft 93, the shafts 93, 94, SI and are rotated in unison at predetermined time intervals. Furthermore, each of thes shafts has a pair of arms I05 with inwardly projecting fingers I06 to move into the pockets of the inverted V-shaped members 45 to transfer the racks I5 from one position to another.

A pinion It! is mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 93 and interengages a gear I08, the latter being rotatably mounted upon a stub shaft 539. A cam IIO, rigidly secured to gear I08 as shown in Fig. 2, is mounted upon the shaft I09 and has the contour shown in Figs. 3 and 6. This cam is positioned to engage a roller III of a switch HE. A switch II2 is of the normally open type and when the roller I I I is positioned to ride upon the loW portion of the cam, the switch will remain open, it being closed, however, by the high portion of the cam H0. The ratio between pinion IITI of the gear I08 is two-to-one causing the switch Hz to be closed during every other cycle of operation of the machine. A cam II4 mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 04 has a single high point I I5 positioned to engage a roller H6 of a switch III. The switch H1 is similar to the switch I I2 in that it is of the normally open type, operated by the cam H4 for a short period of time during each cycle of operation of the machine.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 6. The plating solution is under the control of the electrical circuit shown in this figure aided by the cams I I0 and I I4. It is important that the plating circuit be varied to vary the electrical current passing through the plating bath or electrolyte solution, depending upon the number of crystals or articles being coated.

In the wiring diagram shown in Fig. 6 there are two control units I20 and IZI which are commercially known as electrical timers. It is believed that a detailed description and illustration of these timers are unnecessary for a clear understanding of the invention. They employ the conventional motor driven means to close their respective switches I22 and I23, immediately upon the closing of their main circuits, and to cause opening of their respective switches after given lengths of time. The electrical energies for the timing units are supplied through lines I24 and I25 respectively. The main circuits for the units I20 and HI are respectively under the control of a break contact I26 and a make contact I27 of a relay I28. These circuits are also under the control of the switch I I I and the cam I I l. When the relay I28 is deenergized, the circuit through the normally closed contact I26 is completed by the switch 1. Thus, the unit I20 may be rendered effective upon the closing of the switch I I7 through the operation of the cam I I4. This completes a circuit to the unit I20 to cause the unit to start functioning and immediately close the switch I 22.

The relay I28 is included in a circuit which is under the control of the switch H2 and the cam HQ. Although the cam lid is driven to close the switch ill at a given time interval during each cycle of operation of the machine, the cam ill is driven at only half the speed of the cam il l and thin closes the switch 2 52 during ever other cycle of the machine. Through this means, the units lZt and 12! are rendered effective alternately due to the fact that during one cycle of operation, the relay tilt is deenergized, rendering the breai: contact E25 eilective, while during the next cycle the relay is energized to render the make contact 22? efiective. When this occurs, that is, when the contact till is closed and the contact i25 is opened through the en rgization of the relay !28, another circuit is completed by the cam El i again closing the switch ill. At this time, unit i2i operated to close the switch lit for a given length of time.

The plating circuit is provided with a power supply or grounded battery 638 and includes a break contact l3! and amake contact 332, these contacts also being under the control of the relay 5 28. Two r sistance units, indicated generally at 33 and i3 1, are arranged to include varied numbers of known resistances in parallel in the plating circuit depending upon the number of articles or crystals to be plated. In the unit there is a permanent resistance E35 and other resistances I36, I37, I38, and ltd, all of like values, which may be selectivel included in parallel in the plating circuit. The selective resistances, that is, the resistances 3 5 to ltfi inclusive are provided with contacts of the arrangement shown so that beginning with the resistances E35, one, two, three, or all four or" these resistances may be included in the plating circuit. In actual structure, separate contacts Hid mounted on a com mon shaft, are movable thereby to any of five positions to include one, two, three, four, or all five of the resistances in the circuit. In the present illustration, all five of the resistances of the resistance unit 533 are included in parallel in the plating circuit under the control of the timer or unit I 28. This indicates, therefore, that five crystal units or articles are to be plated at the time when the plating bath is under the control of the units iiil and 33. The circuit completed may be traced from the grounded battery lEB, through a variable resistance tall, switch I22 of the unit i243, break contact ltl, through the parallel connections of all of the resistances lit to Hi9, inclusive, as shown, through an ammeter l to indicate the value of the electrical current, through the rack 55, the split metallic tubes l t, the wires H, the crystals or articles E9, the electrolyte Q? to ground.

The unit i3 1 is identical in every detail to the unit 133, including a fixed resistance H35 and other resistances Hit, l-ll, Hi8 and M9, all known like values which may be selectively included in parallel in the plating circuit when the make contact 532 is closed to complete a circuit from the grounded battery ltd, through the switch E23 of the unit lEi, through the resistance Hi5 and a selected number of the resistances M6 to M9 inclusive in parallel, through the ammeter Hi3 and thus through the articles to be plated, the plating bath and to ground.

Considering now the operation of the plating machine, the operator prepares a rack 15 with a given number of articles id to be plated. This rack is placed at the washing position 1?, but prior to this time, one of the units 33 or E34 is adjusted, if necessary, so that at the time the: first rack is moved to the plating position l8, theplating circuit will be conditioned to uniformlyv plate the articles. 5 first rack or articles has been plated under the control of the units i253 and I33 andthat the second rack includes only four articles.

Prior to the placing of the second rack at the washing position ii, the operator adjusts the unit I34 for four articles, this adjustment being made to include four of the resistances (45 to I48 inelusive) in the plating circuit when the articles of the second rack are moved to the plating position 58. The switches H2. and ill, operable in synchronism with the transfer mechanism renders the control units for the plating bath efiective alternately so that without disturbing the continuous function of the machine, the operator has time intervals, through the provision of two sets of controlling means, namely, the timing units l2ii and 125 and the resistance units 33 and Hi l, to precondition the plating circuit.

racks be followed through the machine, considering the placing of the first rack at the washing position ll during which time the continuous flow of water past the articles will iove all foreign. particles therefrom. The arms 555, with their pins i5 8, are rotated in unison in a clockwise direction, so that at a iven time interval, the first rack will be moved upwardly through are and placed at the plating position it where its legs :38 will form electrical connection with the resilient contacts it. After this has taken place, the plating circuit conditioned tion of the switch ill, depending upon the position of the cam ii -3 as to when the switch H2 remains open or is closed thereby. After the first rack has remained at the plating position H3, 2. given length of time, the adjacent arms I05 will transfer it to the rinsing position [9 where continuously flowing water will again rinse the articles, this time in their plating condition. After a given length of time, the first rack, through the said or the adjacent transfer arms H35, will be moved to the drying position 520 where jets of air will be directed to the articles to dry them. The drying means is rendered effective immediately upon the lowering of the first rack to the position 28, one of the legs it of the rack pressing the plunger 6! and the resilient arm 62 to close the switch 68 and energize the solenoid 59 to open the valve 58 in the airline 5B. The moment the rack is removed from the drying position, the switch 69 will again be opened to deenergize the solenoid 59 and thus close the valve 58. The rack, upon leaving the drying station is transferred to the slides 2! where they are allowed to travel downwardly limited by the stops 22.

Although specific improvements of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are but illustrative and that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A machine for successively electroplating groups of articles variable in number, the machine comprising an electroplating bath, like holders each formed to receive and hold a variable number of the articles from one to a given maximum number of the articles, a loading position to successively receive the holders with their Let it be assumed that the,

articles to be plated, an electroplating bath disposed at a position spaced from the loading position, transfer elements actuable to transfer the holders from the loading position to the bath, where the articles Will be positioned in the bath, and from the bath to another position spaced therefrom, mechanism operable to actuate the transfer elements to transfer the holders at given intervals of time whereby the articles held thereby will be positioned in the bath a known length of time plating circuit for directing a plating current through the articles and the bath, resistance units including electrical resistances of known values and corresponding in number to the said maximum number of articles capable of being held by each of the said holders, means operable in synchronism with the mechanism to alternately include the resistance units in the plating circuit for the articles, of alternate holders, moved into the bath, and separate means for each resistance unit actuable, prior to its unit being included in the plating circuit, to preset its unit to include, of its resistances, a number equal to the number of articles to be positioned in the bath by its holder when the preset unit is included in the plating circuit.

2. A machine for successively electroplating groups of articles variable in number, the machine comprising an electroplating bath, like holders each formed to receive and hold a variable number of the articles from one to a given maximum number of the articles, a loading position to successively receive the holders with their articles to be plated, an electroplating bath disposed at a position spaced from the loading position, transfer elements a-ctuable to transfer the holders from the loading position to the bath,

where the articles will be positioned in the bath, and from the bath to another position spaced therefrom, mechanism operable to actuate the transfer elements to transfer the holders at given intervals of time whereby the articles held thereby will be positioned in the bath a known length of time, a plating circuit for directing a platin-g current through the articles and the bath, resistance units including resistances of like values corresponding in number to the said maximum numb-er of articles capable of being held by each of the said holders, separate means for each resistance unit actuable to preset its unit by electrically connecting a number of its resistances in parallel, one for each article held by the holder at the loading position, and means operable in synchronism with the said mechanism to alternately include the resistance units in the plating circuit to control the plating circuit for the articles on the holders moved successively from the loading position into the bath.

' NELSQN I-I. MAGEOCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 963,817 Shaw July 12, 1910 1,181,349 Sealey May 2, 1916 1,210,663 Mace et al. Jan. 2, 1917 1,760,943 Fuller June 3, 1923 1,959,764 Potthoff May 22, 1934 1,970,850 Hannon Aug. 21, 1934 2,341,606 Finston Feb. 15, 1944 2,370,621 Freitag Mar. 6, 1945 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,469,470. May 10, 1949. NELSON H. MAGEOGH It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: j I

Column 7, line 11, claim 1, for time plating read time, a, plating;-

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with thiscorre'ction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in th e Patent Ofilce. Signed and sealed this 22nd day of November, A; D. 1949.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Gommz'ssz'oner of Patents. 

